Pope Benedict XVI shocked the world Monday when he announced he would resign from his position as the pope, making him the first pope in 600 years to do so. The news surprised people worldwide, and the Russellville River Valley was no exception.

“It was a total surprise,” said Mark Tyler, principal of St. John’s Catholic School. “It caught everyone off guard. It was in the 1400s when the last pope resigned, so there’s no modern day precedent for this.”

Benedict XVI, who resigned due to his own concerns about his age and lack of energy, was the first pope to resign from the Catholic Church since Pope Gregory XII, who stepped down in 1415 due to a division in the church.

“They don’t really know since this is all so new, they don’t know all the protocols for how he’ll be treated,” Tyler said. “Is he going to be in seclusion? Will he make public appearances? I would guess he won’t be involved publicly too much.”

But while the resignation is extraordinary, Tyler said it will be business as usual for the Catholic churches in the area.

“I don’t see any major changes,” he said. “They have enough structure in place. There are people that have positions at the Vatican that will handle things. You have the hierarchy — the archbishops and bishops. I don’t see very many changes for Catholics in the next few weeks.”

With the Vatican beginning the process to hire a new pope — a process they said will be completed by Easter — a list of potential candidates comes to mind for many in the church. Tyler said he would like to see a minority figure appointed to the position, to represent the growing number of church members from those groups.

“Personally, I think it would be encouraging to see someone from a third-world country, maybe from Africa or Latin America,” he said. “I think those are the growing areas in the church now. The numbers in places like Europe have been declining, so I think it would be a move forward to have someone from one of the third-world countries.”